Thursday, May 21, 2015

Evolution flows; but are we there yet?

I
recall a conversation I once had with a veteran reporter-type back when I was
an Illinois Statehouse reporter back in the mid-1990s with regards to the way
political people handled themselves whenever issues related to sexual
orientation came up.

This
conversation took place back at a time when Republicans had complete control of
state government (both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office)
and were willing to use it to bring up bills that were considered offensive to
gay rights activists.

HECK,
IT WAS an era when GOP officials felt compelled to use their influence to make
sure that people understood that marriage between homosexual couples could
NEVER be considered legitimate. Even though no one ever thought that Illinois
law permitted it beforehand.

But
my elder colleague – who has since gone on to mentor many new generations of
reporters – said he noticed the difference from his early days at the Illinois
Statehouse (back when the governor was named “Ogilvie”) whenever such issues
came up.

Back
then, he said, the opposition to anything considered sympathetic to gay people was
vocal. He recalled how legislators felt compelled to speak out in as graphic of
terms as they could.

Talk
of how gay people “consumed human waste” and did all other sorts of perverted
acts came out. Like it was a political battle to see who could be the most
disgusting with their rhetoric.

BY
THE TIME I was a reporter-type covering the daily activity of a Legislature,
the tone had shifted.

DURKIN: A rare "yes" GOP vote?

There
was still opposition. I’m sure there were some of the General Assembly members
who really thought there was some act of perversion taking place.

But
it always seemed that the only political people who felt compelled to speak
were the ones who were determined to put themselves on the record as being in
favor of issues of concern for gay people.

Which
would make writing up stories about those legislative actions odd. Because you’d
have stories filled up with quotations from political people who supported an
issue that the majority opposed.

IT
WOULD BECOME difficult to find people willing to speak out against the issue with
anything other than the most dangerous action they could take – their vote.

DeLUCA: A rare Chicago-area "no."

Their
majority of people willing to vote “no” so as to assuage those individuals in
our society who are determined to think of anyone who isn’t exactly like themselves
as being less than human.

Those
people still remain. They’re more outspoken than ever. But it would seem the
political evolution continues.

For
I couldn’t help but notice an Associated Press dispatch on Tuesday from when
the Illinois House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill that would
outlaw programs that claim to be a medical way of converting people away from
homosexuality.

AS
THOUGH sexual orientation and identity were some sort of disease that could be
eradicated from people if they would just go out and get cured. California, New
Jersey and the District of Columbia already have such laws in place.

The
bill actually got seven Republican legislators to vote “yes,” including House
Minority Leader James Durkin of Western Springs. Also, there were six
Democrats, including one local legislator (Anthony DeLuca of Chicago Heights) who
voted “no.” So it’s not purely urban versus rural people on this issue.

But
no one felt compelled to say anything publicly. Legislators, who are more than
capable of bloviating beyond belief, just kept their mouths shut and voted. Do
even the legislators who vehemently hate the idea of doing anything to support
gay people realize that their rhetoric is pure nonsense?

Fewer
political people feeling the need to say something stupid? A harmful notion to
a reporter-type person in need of material to create intriguing copy. But
perhaps a positive for our society as a whole!

I am a Chicago-area freelance writer who has reported on various political and legal beats. I wrote "Hispanic" issues columns for United Press International, observed up close the Statehouse Scene in Springfield, Ill., the Cook County Board in Chicago and municipal government in places like Calumet City, Ill., and Gary, Ind. For a time, I also wrote about agriculture. Trust me when I say the symbolic stench of partisan politics (particularly when directed against people due to their ethnicity) is far nastier than any odor that could come from a farm animal.